2023 Retrospective, Three small random excerpts with big impact

We often take for granted the little fragments of wisdom that pass us by here and there. This is an homage to thoughts and learnings we gather on our path. We can then choose to use or dismiss, but either way, we all have bits that touch us and make us different from one day…

Face it, we all have one disorder or another

So why are we not using them more to our advantage, and how can we change that? Let’s find a creative way of looking at the struggles we have by readjusting ourselves to normal parameters – as if that is all there is to it! There are many historical examples of serious disorders that proved…

Ultra luxury, the new superlative of design

First, there was the need to have something above your head. Then you made that beautiful. Later, you noticed that others have it even more beautiful and defined the term: luxurious in the English language started happening in the seventeenth century. Coming from a French term underscored by sexual meaning, luxury first referred to indulgence,…

The old renaissance man is dead. Long live the new renaissance human

The self is not a closed capsule but a shareable entity. Man, as the center of the universe, a subject against the infinite objectified world around, has an unsustainable future. Self-help, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-knowledge are all inward-looking concepts that evolved from centuries-old self-centrism and were modelled on scientific isolationism. The new human is race-less,…

First humans were colour blind

I never start my articles with a quote, yet this one is too evocative to pass: “The color blue is associated with two of Earth’s greatest natural features: the sky and the ocean. But that wasn’t always the case. Some scientists believe that the earliest humans were actually colorblind and could only recognize black, white,…

Bond With Your Environment

Over three millennia of cosmology, osmosis, Fengshui, psychology and now, Selftropy tells us that influences exist between us and our environment. It’s here; it’s real; it’s useful-bank on it. In a world where experience is everything, why limit yourself to the tangible when you can have so much more? The borders of real and surreal, virtual…

IDS Toronto 2023 in review (Interior Design Show)

Cheers to a new and beautiful year of design! Let’s celebrate the creative minds of the design industry, the forward thinking visionaries and manufacturers and take a look at the new aesthetics of 2023: MICROPLANTS Beautiful structures for all your microplants needs☘️ OUTDOOR LIVING IN CONTRASTS Black and white have never looked so good!👇 A…

2023 Kitchen design trends

The most reinvented room in your home is the kitchen. By far. Because of that, following the kitchen trends can be very insightful in what new living patterns are concerned. Here are some of the ones that I’ve spotted with my keen (22-year and counting) professional eye that I’m sure will fill in the 2023…

From candles on the dinner table to the chandelier above it

From gathering around the fire, to the fire on the table, to the light above it and what that did and where do we go next. Gathering around the fire The chill of the night, forgotten, the closeness of others, embraced, the loving hand of a forgiving universe present in the darkness of the sky….

Christmas decor traditions and their ritualistic performance

Christmas is the most famous ritual in the western world. Controversial in approach for many reasons, the ones that celebrate it agree on the importance of a specific decor to set the season’s festive mood. Like any other ritual, the careful assembly of parts and steps is critical in achieving a successful rite and passage:…

TRENDS 2022 Design Retrospective

Interior design is one of the greatest modes of personal expression. Over the past few years people have spent more time at home than ever before. In turn, they have started to hone in on their personal aesthetic, and create rooms that feel right to them. By focusing on the pieces that bring joy, colours…

Christmas traditions, dishes and how to present them

I am a Christian. I do not know how much of a believer but a Christian in terms of traditions. I was raised in Romania in a mixed Hungarian-Romanian family with many customs that did not fit one norm but rather straddled the two cultures.  Food tradition, like in any celebration everywhere in the world,…